Brazil Prosecutor-General advocates popular engagement in combating corruption

Brazil's Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot said that Operation Car Wash, the investigation into the Petrobras scandal, will not “save Brazil” from corruption without active popular engagement. He made the statement Monday (Jun. 27) at the kick-off session of a seminar on big corruption scandals prosecuted in Brazil and Italy.

In his address, Janot said Operation Car Wash is the “biggest and most thorough” corruption investigation ever seen in Brazil. However, he pointed out, the efforts of prosecutors and judges alone are not enough to stop public fund embezzlement.

“We won't make it through the end of this crusade through prosecutors or the court system [alone]. These players have supporting roles in transforming and strengthening republican values. Operation Car Wash alone will not save Brazil or advance our civilizing process,” Janot said.

He noted that Brazil's current environment favors the end of impunity and assured the Public Prosecution Service will not tolerate setbacks. “There are certain voices today that reverberate the past and attempt to replace anti-corruption enforcement with fake stability, that excluding kind of stability that benefits only a few. We will not submit to criminal indulgence: this is not what Brazil wants, and it's not what the country needs,” he said.

Justice and Citizenship Minister Alexandre de Moraes also spoke at the seminar. He said the government supports legal initiatives against corruption, such as a bill called Ten Steps Against Corruption. The bill is based on ten proposed changes to the existing legislation, including harsher punishment for corruption-related crimes, and the criminalization of unreported election campaign donations.

Translated by Mayra Borges